


Royal Rights

by supercasey



Series: Eddsworld Saloonatics OT3 AU [3]
Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cowboys & Cowgirls, Alternate Universe - Saloonatics, Alternate Universe - Western, Arranged Marriage, Comfort, Eddsworld OT3, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Forced Marriage, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Homosexuality, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Marriage, Meeting the Parents, Multi, OT3, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Homophobia, Polyamorous Relationships, Polyamory, Polyamory Dynamics, Protective Siblings, Sibling Fluff, Siblings, Slurs, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Family Tension, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 16:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7394776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercasey/pseuds/supercasey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saloonatics AU. An urgent telegram from England sends Matthew running home, bringing Edward and Thompson along for the ride. A royal wedding is to be held for Matthew’s older sister, leading to more than a bit of tension in the castle. Not everyone understands what it’s like to be in love with two people at the same time…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Royal Rights

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: It’s been far too long since I’ve updated this AU. So here; a WIP, multi-chapter fic for all your Saloonatics OT3 needs. Rating may change if I wanna add a sex scene, but that all depends on what y’all say about the idea in the comments. Please R&R!

“Telegram for Prince Matthew!”

Edward’s the one to answer the door, eyes quickly landing on a short boy on his doorstep. “Telegram.” The boy says, holding out an envelope to the detective.

“Ah, thank you, sir,” Edward replies, handing the boy a bit of money for his trouble. “I’ll give it to Matthew right away."

With that, the boy leaves. Shutting the door, Edward walks back upstairs to his, Thompson’s, and Matthew’s bedroom. Both Matthew and Thompson are still in bed, although Thompson’s awake. The sheriff looks up with a raised eyebrow when he sees Edward, staring pointedly at the telegram. “Who’s it from?” He asks, his voice coming out in a southern drawl.

“Not sure; the carrier said it was for Matthew,” Edward explains, kneeling on the side of the bed where Matthew’s still resting, the prince’s arms wrapped securely around Thompson’s skinny waist. “Matthew, wake up. You have a telegram.”

Matthew stirs slowly, struggling to come to. Eventually he cracks his eyes open, letting out a yawn worthy of a lion as he sits up, unwrapping from Thompson in order to stretch his arms above his head. Now free, Thompson hops off the bed, fishing around on the floor for something to wear while Matthew mindlessly takes the telegram from Edward, mumbling a quick ‘Thank you’ as he tears it open. Matthew scans the telegram, rubbing at his eyes occasionally out of necessity- Edward keeps thinking he might need glasses. Meanwhile, Thompson climbs onto the bed with Matthew again, looking at the telegram from over his shoulder.

“What’s dat word say?” Thompson asks, pointing at a word on the paper. Unlike Edward and Matthew, Thompson’s never gotten a proper education, making reading difficult for him.

“That says ‘Wedding’, sweetheart,” Matthew explains, kissing Thompson’s cheek when the sheriff blinks, causing Thompson to glare at him. “A royal wedding to be exact… it appears my dear sister Karen is getting married,” He pauses, suddenly, staring hard at the paper. “Wait… Karen’s getting married? But… no, mother and father would never let her marry a woman, but then how…” He stops, before letting out a long, tired sigh. “Oh good God… I only hope she’s okay. No doubt she’s going through Hell across the pond.”

“Your sister’s getting married? Princess Karen? My, the country will be singing from every rooftop in celebration!” Edward declares, smiling until he notices Matthew’s concerned look. “... Matthew? Are you alright?”

“I… we need to go to England. Now,” Matthew deadpans, looking serious as he rifles through the envelope, pulling out two tickets for the next ship to England. “Curses… in seems my family only thinks I have one lover…” He actually laughs a little, shrugging. “Guess that’s my fault for not telling them otherwise, huh?”

“You two knuckleheads go on without me,” Thompson suggests, flopping down on the bed with a sigh. “‘Sides, I ain’t no tea-sipping city slicker. I ain’t putting one pinky toe in fuckin’ Britain.”

Matthew rolls his eyes. “The proper term is ‘England’, deary. And you’re coming, too. I’m not about to leave either of you behind!”

Edward furrows his brow in concern. “ But how will we get Thompson on-board? We can hardly afford to take the proper trains to the shoreline; we’ll never be able to purchase a ticket for him.”

Thompson smirks triumphantly. “Ya see, Princely? There’s no way in Hell in a handbasket that I could come. But don’t you worry yer pretty ‘lil head; I’ll hold the homefront ‘til you two get yer asses back.”

Matthew looks around in thought, before he grins far too widely at Thompson. “Say… you’re pretty small, aren’t you, Tom-Toms?”

“Er… I’m not that small.” Thompson argues, but he doesn’t sound too convincing.

“And you’re skinny. And lightweight,” Matthew continues, proving this by quite easily picking Thompson up from under his armpits. “Yes… why, one could say you’re small enough to fit with one’s luggage!”

Thompson gulps, looking between Edward and Matthew. “... I’ve got a bad feelin’ ‘bout dis…”

…

“Do you need me to carry your bag, sir?” A sailor questions, referring to the large sack tied onto Edward’s back.

“Oh… no no no, I’m fine!” He promises, wheezing as he struggles to carry the large, bulging sack. “These are all personal items… for the prince.” He whispers out the last part through gritted teeth.

“Uh… as you wish, sir.” The sailor agrees, walking away with a concerned look on his face. As soon as he’s gone, Edward lands on his ass, the sack dropping to the ground on it’s side behind him.

Matthew strolls over to Edward, raising an eyebrow at the detective. “What are you doing on the ground, sweetie? We need to get going.”

“Switch with me; I can’t carry him anymore…” Edward whines, panting on the docks as he struggles to catch his breath.

Matthew gives a dramatic sigh, but nonetheless sits the bag up, opening the top of it just enough to catch a glimpse inside. “Hold are you holding up, dear?”

Thompson glares venomously at Matthew from inside the sack. “I hate you so damn much.” He growls, looking ready to kill someone.

“We’re almost there; now keep quiet!” Matthew orders, before picking up the bag with a groan of exerted energy. “Come now, Edward; our ship will be leaving soon.”

Loyally, Edward follows after Matthew and Thompson, subconsciously placing a hand on the bag in order to help support the sheriff. With little delay, the men climb aboard, and the ship leaves the harbor on a course for England. Edward sighs with relief once they’re on-board, feeling safer already. A sailor takes them into a private section of the ship for them to stay in- being royalty definitely gives you perks!- before the sheriff and deputies are finally left to their own devices. At once, Matthew dramatically flops onto the bed, crushing Thompson as he lands on his back.

Thompson lets out a startled and muffled screech of pain, the bag wriggling around beneath a worn out Matthew until Thompson finally manages to get his head out of the bag. “Sweet jibbling jibblets!” He shouts, struggling under Matthew until he can get his arms out, grabbing onto the bed’s comforter for assistance as he drags his legs out. Once he’s free, Thompson glares at Matthew. “I fuckin’ hate you.” He growls.

“I’m too tired to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn’t,” Matthew moans, making an overly dramatic pose on the bed. “This is where I die… goodbye cruel world.”

“You’re not going to die, Matthew. Besides, I’m the one who carried him most of the way here,” Edward points out, looking worn out as well as he lies down with his lovers, holding one of Thompson’s hands while tangling his legs with Matthew’s. “So… how long do you think until we’re there?”

“I’d say roughly seven weeks.” Matthew says, quickly getting over his exhaustion.

“ _SEVEN WEEKS_!?” Thompson jumps up from the bed, gasping in horror. “Dat’s it! I want off dis floatin’ tree trunk!”

“Shh!” Edward shushes, giving Thompson a worried/irritated look. “Not so loud, dear. You don’t want to get caught, do you?”

“Seven weeks isn’t that long,” Matthew promises, assisting Edward in his attempts at calming Thompson down. “We’ll have each other, and plenty of time to talk. As well as time for more… interesting activities.” He adds a wink at the end.

Thompson stares at the two Englishmen for a time, weighing his options, before he lets out a long, defeated sigh, sinking down into Edward’s arms, his legs tangling with Edward and Matthew’s legs. “Alright,” He agrees, nuzzling his cheek into Matthew’s chest, enjoying the warmth the others give off. “But I’s only stayin’ ‘cus I gots no where else ta go.” He explains, unintentionally holding onto Edward’s arms even tighter. They have no idea how true that is for him…

…

_BOOM  
_

Thompson awakes with a gasp, sweat dripping down his face as he looks around in a rush, the wooden walls surrounding him creaking as the waves outside crash into them. Cautiously, Thompson checks if the boys are alright. Matthew’s still out cold- the guy could sleep through the apocalypse, Thompson thinks- while Edward looks to be hardly resting, rolling back and forth under the covers of their shared bed, eyes shut tight with a scared expression on his face. _BOOM_. Thompson jumps at the sound, realizing right away that it’s coming from outside. The sheriff closes his eye, listening carefully.

A light patter can be heard in the form of a hushed background noise, rain falling from the Heavens above in an attempt to drown the humans below. _‘It’s only a ‘lil thunderstorm’_ , Thompson assures himself, breathing heavy and fearful. Beside Thompson, Edward stirs, letting out a low whine that can barely be heard above the downpour outside. Thompson gives the detective a worried look, eye widening when Edward’s eyes crack open, soon going wide in horror at the sound of rain outside. _BOOM_. Another thunderclap has Edward launching into Thompson’s lap, seeking comfort.

“Easy there, pardener,” Thompson murmurs, rubbing Edward’s back and arms in a soothing manner. Usually it’s Edward or Matthew comforting him, so the switching in roles is a bit weird for him, but he manages all the same. “I’m ‘ere… I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He says some of the things his adoptive brother told him when Sir was away, hoping it might help Edward as well.

Over time, Edward seems to calm down, but it’s only when Edward’s falling asleep again that Thompson realizes that someone else’s arms are around him. Blinking, Thompson looks over his shoulder, only to look right into Matthew’s eyes. The prince does have beautiful eyes- that Thompson can’t deny- them being a baby blue, cerulean color that makes the sheriff’s insides twist in a mixture of confusion, arousal, and affection. Not saying a word, Matthew kisses Thompson’s cheek, pulling the sheriff to lie down on the bed with the prince, taking Edward down with them. Slowly but surely, they all fall back asleep.

...

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: A slow start, but we’ll get to the angst and (possible) sex later. Please R&R!


End file.
